The Bradley soccer season hasn’t gone the way the Braves and head coach Jim DeRose expected, with injuries and multiple heartbreaking losses aplenty. However, the Braves turned the tide by upsetting Drake on Sunday and keeping their hopes of a Missouri Valley Conference Championship alive.
The seventh-seeded Braves played their quarterfinal matchup of the MVC Tournament against the second-seeded Bulldogs in Des Moines, Iowa. In the finale of what has been the 2022 Drake-Bradley trilogy, the Braves took the most important game 2-1.
“There were some differences from this game to last game and that was health,” DeRose said. “We had quite a few guys back and our preparation was fantastic and at the end of the day we didn’t truly look like the underdog.”
Both teams got off to fiery starts in the first half, but neither side really had the cutting edge needed to open the scoring.
The Bulldogs were the closest to scoring between the two teams during the first half. A tricky shot from Drake’s Braden Allen ricocheted off of freshman keeper Drew Berry’s right post and into the feet of another Bulldog. After a couple of quick twists and turns, Damien Segura released his shot wide.
As the second half rolled around, the Braves took advantage of the level playing field and scored four minutes into the half. After a couple of good shots on target that tested Drake keeper Jonathan Burke, sophomore Jackson Fyda crafted a perfect cross into the danger zone where junior Jack Douglas connected for his first goal of the season.
“I knew I was one versus one on the back post [so] I signaled for Fyda to cross it into the back post and he played a great cross so I just nodded it in,” Douglas said.
Twelve minutes later, Bradley redshirt freshman Kaloyan Somov found a crack in the defense, maneuvered his way to the goal and released a shot that deflected off the keeper, falling into the feet of sophomore Anthony Calleri. His shot found the lower part of the crossbar, bouncing inside and later out.
After a couple of moments of confusion on whether the ball had crossed the line, the sideline referee saw it all and Calleri’s first goal of the year was given.
It took Drake 20 minutes to finally break into the game with a Leroy Enzugusi top bin shot from outside the box that left Berry with little to do. While Drake was able to take multiple shots during those 20 minutes, only one of them required the Braves shot-stopper to intervene.
“Our goalkeeper, Nick [Burke], has been injured for a while now and we’ve given Berry the opportunity and he had a great game,” DeRose said. “It’s always a challenge to bring in a true freshman to play goalkeeper in a pressure-filled game.”
The Braves did not back down from the setback, as they quickly got another shot from Douglas that sailed high above the goal posts. Their defense also kept Drake fairly quiet during the last 10 minutes of high pressure. The game ended in favor of Bradley, meaning the Braves get to play at least one more game this season.
Bradley will now have the difficult task of playing against the tournament’s No. 1 seed and No. 23 ranked Missouri State away from home.
“It’s definitely a challenge,” Douglas said. “In my four years here we have never beaten them, but I think now that we’re healthier we can at least go there and put up a good fight.”
The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 and ESPN+ on Thursday at 6 p.m.
